Biting the Bullet Challenge

[Acorn]

Xara is extremely moribund in updating Components its Online Content Catalogue (OCC).

The Xara Desktop application (XDA) is predominantly a vector product.
With recent versions, Xara has introduced new functionality and rendering that makes some of its Component design particularly bad.
The Challenge drives to the heart of the matter; TG needs you to revive the following:

• Go to OCC > Components > Print & web Components > Bullets and Numbering.
• Import any of the Bullets.
• Create a test page with the Bullet clone a number of time, scaled or embedded with text.
  
  • The point of this initial exercise is to get you to Preview and look at the output in as high a magnification as your browser allows --> Jaggies!
  • If you care, look at your index_htm_files folder in a local Export and see each Button has its own associated image.
  • If you deconstruct the OCC Bullets, you will find a general laxity around symmetry and the use of editable shapes rather than building up and arranging more regular shapes.

Now, I created a testbed for trying to convert these Bullets in to sleeker, crisper versions:
Bullets.xar

The Buttons with a Red background are the OCC versions.
The Buttons with a Green background are my implementations. I accept I compromised by ignoring Shadows.
Those in front of yellow are my failed attempts to deliver better.
You should Preview the testbed page with the Old Xara Bullets layer hidden to see that there are only images for the yellow background Bullets.

Tricks you should know

• Xara renders a Circle as an image (bad).
• Xara rendered a Rounded Rectangle as a SPAN (no image); you simply change the rounding to maximum and you get a Circle (no image so no jaggies).
• Such a shape can be squished/squashed and it stays a SPAN.
• Xara allows Simple Fade Linear Fills to be rendered as CSS linear gradients (no image).
• You can double-click to add Fill Points along the Linear Fill to force sharp colour transitions.
• These colours can even be 'no colour'; you get a white shape but it renders transparent (no image). A Transparency renders as an image (jaggies).
• From XDA v16.0, Xara introduced Web Properties >Image > Group images > Separate images for group members.
• There would be no point is creating all these sleeker, crisper Bullets if youur grouping forced an image to be rendered (jaggies).

The Challenge

Create you own Bullet without a rendering image for a shape or its background fill.
Your design can by any sensible multiple of 64px; I would expect a real Bullet to be only 32px tall.
You should use Named Colours to show Xara how it should be done.
You will find the 'yellow' buttons quite problematic so any solutions here will be lauded.
One Button (family) per design file please.

Do not limit you imagination to the testbed examples, create your own. It could be a rollover version if you like.

Show Xara what design is all about.

Acorn

[gwpriester]

Not to mention, a circle once is it converted to editable shapes, often loses the same arc. Not quite sure why this happens and it is most noticeable at much higher % than normal, and maybe at normal print or bitmap resolution not a problem. But still.

[handrawn]

Show Xara what design is all about

dare I say, not using ephemera such as the OCC... ?

[Acorn]

dare I say, not using ephemera such as the OCC... ?

You may but avowing it does not address the fact that you are paying for the OCC each and every update.

Show we can do better and that we object to third-rate mechandise, repackaged.

Acorn

[handrawn]

I wish you luck... I suppose it is more suited to TG than showing we can do better in another application full stop.....

[Acorn]

I am sure there is no other graphics package than can natively handle something like this:

Xara - Yin-Yang Bullet.xar.



Acorn